Request for less brief press briefings

Date: 11/12/1997

UK Finance Minister Gordon Brown's habit of giving what can only be described as extremely economical press briefings is beginning to annoy an increasing number of Brussels-based journalists.

At the end of last week's meeting of EU finance ministers, Brown refused even to appear before hacks who had been waiting into the evening to hear the great man explain what he and his ministerial colleagues had been discussing behind the closed doors of their Justus Lipsius conference room.

Instead, the minister sent down a tape recording of an interview he had conducted earlier with the BBC.

Entre Nous hopes somebody has warned Brown that he will have to appear in person to give press conferences at the end of Council meetings when the UK presidency starts at the beginning of next month.